Park Ridge Likes Sound Of 3 Jet-noise Monitors

January 10, 1998|By Rogers Worthington, Tribune Staff Writer.

For months, Park Ridge residents have been the leading source of complaints about noise at O'Hare International Airport.

On Friday, the O'Hare Noise Compatibility Commission took a step toward addressing those concerns by announcing the placement of three permanent noise monitors in Park Ridge. It's a step that some suggest is long overdue.

"We're confident the monitors are going to give Chicago a clear picture of the noise," said Mary Ann Irvine, a spokeswoman for Park Ridge.

While the noise-tracking devices were placed in other communities near O'Hare early last year, Park Ridge was passed over because airport officials determined that it was not in an area with severe noise problems.

The announcement of the new monitors was made during the commission's Friday meeting. The monitors are in Woodland Park, Southwest Park and on the grounds of Lincoln Middle School.

Officials said similar monitors also have been installed in Glenview.

The commission is a Chicago-funded panel made up of eight school districts and 17 municipalities surrounding O'Hare, including Chicago. Oak Park and River Forest were added Friday.

The group's mission is to advance noise-abatement efforts.

O'Hare's 4-year-old noise contour, a computer-generated map designed to show which communities are affected most by airplane noise, is expected to be replaced later this year. The new map will be more accurate, since it is based on actual on-site noise readings drawn from Chicago's $4 million noise-monitoring system.

Noise complaints, which have increased almost every month since the airport's Fly Quiet program began in June, declined sharply in November, according to data released Friday by the Chicago Department of Aviation.

Calls totaled 1,492 in November--360 from Park Ridge alone--compared with a peak of 3,368 in October. The Fly Quiet program tracks noise complaints between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.

Dennis Culloton, spokesman for the city's Aviation Department, attributed the decline, in part, to a reduction of mid-runway takeoffs that direct planes over residential areas at lower altitudes.

In an effort to further reduce noise, city Aviation Commissioner Mary Rose Loney said she will meet with air carriers to encourage them to use aircraft fitted with quieter State III engines from 10 to 11 p.m., and from 6 to 7 a.m. Those are the Fly Quiet hours when the greatest percentage of noise complaints are recorded.

Under federal law, Stage III engines will be required on all jet aircraft by 2000.

Commission members also heard from Sanford Fidell, an engineer with BBN Technologies, the firm that is likely to be hired by the commission to evaluate the city's noise-monitoring data, flight-tracking system and complaint process.

"We look at our role as providing an independent assessment of credibility of the airport noise-monitoring system," Fidell said.

In other action Friday, the year-old commission hired an executive director to manage its affairs. Mark Fowler, former director of transportation issues for the Northwest Municipal Conference, was chosen for the $50,000-a-year post. He was selected from more than 50 candidates.

Fowler's office will be at the city's Aviation Department for the first six months, then he will move to a permanent office.